The dual nature of tango
I often wonder why tango is so attractive, why I (and others with me) got so obsessed with it. Why we never tire of it.
In part, I think it has to do with the infinite depth that can be found within it, and part of the source of this I believe is the dual nature of tango, or its apparent paradoxes. Making it difficult to explain or describe what tango is and isn’t. Conflicting forces that are present simultaneously.
Sorrow and happiness.
Confidence and humbleness.
Quiet and loud.Calmness and violence.
Domination and submission.
Understatement and exagerration.Elegance and crudeness.
Simplicity and complexity.
Playfulness and sincerity.Modernity and tradition.
Decency and frivolity.
Proximity and distance.Suspense and release.
Old and new.
Life and death.Me – and you.
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I have been ruminating about tango in a slightly different way.
Traditionalists versus innovators
Old-timers versus newcomers
Milonguero versus nuevo
Social versus exhibition
Improvised versus choreographed
Hola Janis,
yes that would be the usual suspects, right?
I tried to stay away from them, hoping to make a small contribution in getting people out of the trenches, realizing that differences exist within the tango. They contribute to the profoundness of tango as well, even if they are often subject for superfluous quarreling.
Note that I used the word and insted of versus, to make the point that they are all part of tango, even if your preferences may go in one or the other direction.
This is exactly why your posting had an impact. The “and” changed my perspective.
I’m glad to hear that! May you have happy and sad dances tonight
Un abrazo,
Simba